Evans wanted to write and release a novel his publishers found unmarketable. As he puts it, “try to imagine telling people with a financial interest in your writing success that you want to write a whole book about a squirrel”. Evans saw CC-licenses and online publishing as a means to allow his work be read freely, while at the same time retaining potential commercial avenues for the book (Evans “cautiously expect[s] [Beasts of New York] to eventually find a publisher”).

It is now apparent that Evans’ optimism was well merited – Beasts of New York will see a physical release through Canadian literary press The Porcupine’s Quill early next year, largely based on the online traction the novel received. Beasts of New York has been downloaded legally around 6,000 times from Feedbooks and Manybooks and has become Evans’ most-popular and highest-rated book on Goodreads.